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[Ciosa]

1969

Mankind has landed on the moon.  Bikinis are hitting beaches across the world, and animal prints are vogue.  Brigitte Bardot has become the official face of Marianne, and beehive hairdos and minidresses dot the landscape.  The Beatles are living legends. 

Maximilian cared for none of that.  The pint sized man was built like an owl – broad shoulders and a bald head that sat squat on his neck, tapering down to tiny legs and misshapen feet that made him seem perpetually in danger of falling over – especially when he paced in front of the giant monitor which held his attention.

He cleaned the fog from his monocle – he sweated profusely, even in cool climates, and the heat of the volcano where he'd made his lair was only compounded by the moisture of the jungle outside.  He took a long draw the tapered cigarette holder in his hand, blowing out smoke and fuming quietly.

A dozen men, each physically capable of breaking the tiny man in half, shook in their boots.  They'd never seen the industrial genius so angry.  They towered over him, but stood stock straight, at attention, praying they didn't draw his attention.

“What do you mean OFF LINE?!” he finally howled.  The scientist on screen – with a white lab coat and beads of sweat dripping down his face. 

“My apologies, your Magnificence,” he said, cowering and bowing his head.  “We're still trying to get to the source of the problem.  Some sort of electromagnetic energy has scrambled the radio signals which control our security system.  The traps – the flamethrowers walls and the saw blade ceilings and the dread-mills all appear to be offline.”

“And the piranhas?  What about the piranhas?!”

Maximilian's small hands slammed down on the desk.  The scientist jumped.  “They're fine, sir!  But...”

“BUT WHAT?!” screamed the undersized tyrant.

“Well, the radio controls which operate the trap doors seem to be malfunctioning.  We can't seem to get them to open when the forces of justice – or the tourists – tread on them.”

Maximilian screamed, balling his fists in the air.  “The forces of justice are HERE?!  Why didn't you LEAD with that?!”  He pointed at the screen.  “Minion!  Kill him!  Everyone!  Red Alert!  Fight to the last man!  Arm yourselves, my minions, ARM YOURSELVES!”

John Steele, man of danger, international playboy and internationally renowned super-spy, casually aimed his PPK and squeezed the trigger.  The shot was over a hundred and fifty yards, the tiny gun barely capable of accurately handling such ranges, but it caught the gray-clad henchman square in the forehead.  There was a splatter of blood, his head snapping back, and John Steele sighed.

Another day, another megalomaniac trying to take over the world. 

He adjusted the tie of his tuxedo, glancing at the sun and momentarily begrudging the sweltering heat of the jungle.  He should be frolicking on the beach with with some nubile tourist who filled out her bikini – but instead he was trekking through the jungle, putting the end to the schemes of yet another would be overlord.

“I should publish a rulebook for evil geniuses,” he sighed.  He stepped over vines and fallen branches, his polished leather shoes not collecting a hint of mud, or cracking even the tiniest stick – though his white coat did little to fade into the verdant background.  Another minion poked their head out from the cave, waving a gun, scanning the jungle in an adrenaline-fueled haze.  John waited for him to lean just a little more, and shot him in the chest.  The minion crumpled and fell back, and John paused in front of the first, nearly headless minion.

“Rule number one,” he said, leaning down and unzipping the garish yellow jumpsuit.  It was waterproofed, he noticed with amusement, and a moment later he'd stripped it off, pulling it over his tuxedo reluctantly.  He reached over to pull off the intact helmet from the second dead minion, snapping it into place.

“My minions will have clear face masks, not silly visors which allow anyone to enter.”

He continued into the cave – the illusion of nature disappeared a few steps within, becoming metal walls and sliding, sophisticated doors.  The jammer he'd placed earlier was disrupting most of the islands technological systems, and in an emergency, the doors were forced into an open position.

“Rule number two,” he continued to himself.  He glanced up, smiling wryly at the large, overhead heating duct.

“My ventilation shafts will be too small to crawl through.”  He jumped up, catching the sill of it, pulling off the grate with one hand and climbing within.

“Rule number three - “

Maximilian slammed his hands down on the table.  “Where are my minions!  Blue Team, come in!  Yellow Team!  Report!”

He howled, throwing the radio against the screen in a fury.  Both shattered, and the gathered henchmen winced.  He was standing on the table now, doing his best to loom over the remaining force of devoted servants.  It made him stand eye to eye with his burly henchman.

“It could just be the radio's jammed, sir,” said a henchman, optimistically. 

“It could just be the radio's jammed, sir,” parroted Maximilian.  He drew a Luger, aiming it and shooting the optimistic minion through the chest.

“No,” he growled, shaking with impotent fury.  “It's John...Steele.”  He hissed the words.

“Someone get Jubei.  And ready the giant laser!”

He pumped his hands into the air victoriously, while his minions scurried.

As two of them slipped out, one of the yellow-clad henchmen leaned to the other.

“Man, this sucks.  We're all going to die.”

“Shh,” said the other, nodding back to the diminutive leader.  “Gollum's got ears like a bat.”

Smoke spilled out of the cave entrance as John Steele strode back out.  The pint-sized megalomaniac's bodyguard had put up a hell of a fight, and his tuxedo had born the brunt of it.  He sighed and looked down at the garment – the clean white surface marred by katana cuts, laser fire, and the blood of more than one hapless minion.  He peeled it off, baring bronzed muscles and abs carved of rock, tossing it into the jungle.  He pushed a button on his watch.  Tiny antenna extended from the technological masterpiece, and he spoke into the face.

“S.A.B.R.E. Command, this is double oh twelve, copy.”

“We read you loud and clear.”

He glanced back to the volcano, streaming smoke from a dozen entrances.  “Operation Napoleon is complete, sir.”  He poked idly at a small red line, where a bullet had grazed his abdomen.  “The runt put up a fight, but I don't think you'll have to worry about that earthquake ray any time soon.”

The volcano let out a crash, as systems of tunnels collapsed upon themselves.  Smoke and debris flew from the entrances, and for a moment John Steele coughed and then held his breath.

“Was... a little closer to operational than expected,” he added. 

He paused, gaze fixing on two distant figures.  They were headed for the beach, running from the debris, tourists vacationing on the island.  Nubile, with caramel skin and dark hair, bodies glistening in the sun as they dove into the water to wash themselves of the soot and smoke.  The sway of their bodies in the bikinis was... mesmerizing.

“God bless  Louis Réard,” said Steele. 

“What was that?  We didn't catch the last part.  You're on your way back to HQ?”

Steele glanced at his watch, and grinned.  “Sorry, Command.  Looks like there's a... back up prototype I'm going to have to dismantle.  I'll radio you when it's over.”

He slipped off the watch, and his shoes, and headed for the beach at a jog, a grin on his face.

“Damnation,” said Command.  “He's off buggering some bimbo.”

A thousand miles away, a phone rang.  A gloved hand lifted it to an ear.

“Your... eminent brilliance?”

“Yes?” said a cultured voice.

“It seems the... Island of Indeterminate Location you were interested in is... once again on the market.  I'm told there's been a... significant drop in the asking price.  S.A.B.R.E. apparently discovered a ruthless mastermind using it as a base of operations.  Apparently, some made plot to take over the world.”

“Oh?  What a pity.”

There wasn't the least bit of disappointment in the voice.

“Would you like another tour?  We can arrange another trip to scout the location - “

“That won't be necessary.  I'll buy.  I'll have the money transferred first thing in the morning.”

“Thank you.  Our courier will be in the usual place.”

“Excellent.”  There was a cultured pleasure in the tone, but distant – a powerful mind was already far distant, wheels spinning in their mind.

The hand hung up the phone.  Fingers steepled together, and a low, wicked laugh began.  It seemed to bubble on, and on, filling the room.

Minions in helmets with clear face plates glanced to one another.  They'd never seen the Master so happy.

So, credit where credit is due:  This concept is very much directly inspired, and homage to a little game called Evil Genius.  Published by Elixir Studios, now defunct, and owned by Sierra Entertainment.  I've used established characters from the game liberally in the teaser I've posted here, but the intention of the game is to create a new Evil Genius played by a player here in the forums, then create a world for them and their legions of henchmen and followers to inhabit. 

The goal?  World Domination, of course.  What self respecting Evil Genius would aspire to anything less?  But to do so means tricking, befuddling, and fooling the Forces of Justice, stalling them as wicked plans come to fruition. 

Sadly, there can be only one Evil Genius.  I intend for the player who wishes to be the Evil Genius to post their concept here in the thread – I want a compelling back story, the unique quirks of your Genius, and a rough outline of their planned path to World Domination.  We can work out the exact details in PM, but I want the interested community to have a sense for their evil overlord.  After a number of compelling concepts have been posted, the community of interested players will vote.  Their should also be some out of game notes – the Genius will be a major character, to be sure, the supreme commander, but the player will have some responsibility to the remainder of the community, obligations to help keep the game moving and create role playing opportunities. 

This is a world of cliches – bombshell honeypots, charming agents, bumbling, expendable minions.  Good help is hard to find, hard to train, and hard to keep loyal!  Also, it seems hard to keep all the minions out of each other's pants.

Above and beyond that, there will be lots of roles for others to play – I'm going to create a number of slots for skilled henchmen, the dangerous allies of the Genius, and more for important positions within the hierarchy.  Brilliant, malevolent scientists, mercenary commanders, cunning masters of espionage. 

I'm intending the game to be very tongue in cheek, in many ways.  (If the teaser wasn't any hint.)  A sense of humor is a vital ingredient.

A few things this game is not:

This is not torture porn.  Yes, there will be interrogations.  I think a chief interrogator makes a fine concept – but I'm not interested in vivid descriptions of horrifying experiments or flaying skin or castration.  The intention is for light-hearted megalomania, not a deep exploration into the nature of evil.  Wicked, self-centered, and misunderstood is fine.  A true psychopath serial killer kind of concept holds no interest for me.

Second – this is not an adventure game.  The key action will take place on the island.  Henchmen and minions will accomplish myriad evil tasks off the island, and I intend to play those through PMs.  But ultimately, the steamy jungle island and volcano lair will be the heart of all of the action.  Having every PC saddle up to go on a grand adventure is not the goal – I'd rather players think of it as their own evil little sandbox.

Third – I intend to move this game into the adult forums just as soon as I can.  If I'm approved, (fingers crossed) the island paradise is going to get considerably steamier.  Build a little heat into your concepts, but play nice until the gloves are off.  I'm going to build a lot of global areas where players can mingle at their own pace.  So, in the mean time, this is a non-adult game, but it is very much intended to be one.  Soon.

Fourth – There is a comedic element to the game, but I intend to play it very seriously.  Yes, there will be cliches and pastiches aplenty, cheesecake will abound, but create a concept with  some depth, some fun, and some long-term goals.

I'll be providing some details on character creation imminently, but feel free to start throwing out some nutshell concepts.  I'll have some details on full character creation after I have PMs, but I think there's a lot of initial work that can begin before then.

Let me know if you're interested, and feel free to pitch a concept anywhere in this thread.

[Jezabelle]

As I'd hoped, this is very much inspired by the video game it seems.

I'd like to either be one of the more flamboyant high-henchmen, or an enigmatic super spy who is eventually caught and interrogated\escapes/is captured again\whatever winds up happening.

[Kythia]

I played that game!

Sorry, freakishly excited.  Hardly ever play video games and just overjoyed to find a reference I understood. 

Colour me interested - need a Bond Girl?  Or I can put together a potential Evil Genius.

[Ciosa]

I'm interested in two types of players - part of the Organization of Evil, and a few people who will play a combination of things - moderators, playing minor npcs and background characters.  (what's an evil lair without a legion of minons?)  Those same moderators will also be playing tourists, investigators, agents - and potentially super agents, once the forces of nefariousness have eventually drawn enough heat to attract their attention.

If the story unfolds with the Evil Genius playing carefully, making sure his minions are not feeding helpless tourists into lethal deathtraps and the like, and the players are finding clever ways to keep curious eyes away from their nefarious deeds, then it'll be a long time coming before truly dangerous adversaries are on the island.

[Jezabelle]

I'm interested in two types of players - part of the Organization of Evil, and a few people who will play a combination of things - moderators, playing minor npcs and background characters.  (what's an evil lair without a legion of minons?)  Those same moderators will also be playing tourists, investigators, agents - and potentially super agents, once the forces of nefariousness have eventually drawn enough heat to attract their attention.

If the story unfolds with the Evil Genius playing carefully, making sure his minions are not feeding helpless tourists into lethal deathtraps and the like, and the players are finding clever ways to keep curious eyes away from their nefarious deeds, then it'll be a long time coming before truly dangerous adversaries are on the island.

Hmmm; that's interesting.

Could I be a sort of "personnel officer"? I'm imaging a sort of matter-of-fact secretary who's dripping with her own dry, sardonic evil and humor as black as her lipstick (and soul). She makes sure everything's in order for the away teams and nobody's off task: to this end I could act as a small-scale global moderator, able to take control of mooks of acceptable loyalty levels insofar as I'd say "rabbit" and type that they hopped sort of thing.

[Ciosa]

I was thinking one of the key officers would be the #2 - a control officer who's role is to keep tabs on global activities, collect intelligence, dispatch minions on tasks and various nefarious deeds.  It would be a role that focused largely on keeping the minions working, managing a control room and keeping the minions at work, and also the strange and odd requests of a brilliant mastermind at work. 

That have any appeal?

[Kythia]

You know what I'd be tempted to do?  Obviously this is your game so, you know, file this under "suggestion" rather than "Kythia being a mega bitch and attempting to take over my game"  But once duly filed, I'd be tempted to run it at least initially as a GM/Players game.  You (or whoever the GM is, just kinda using "you" as a placeholder) play the Evil Genius - we could still vote on concept - and the tourists, agents, and all that shizzle, we (same rules) play mid to high henchmen.

Meh, feel free to ignore.  Was just my first thought.

[Ciosa]

It was honestly tempting to me, too.  For one, I think the role of the Evil genius might get a little boring.  Sit around, plot, sit around, plot, send minions to do things.  And I could ensure that the evil Genius wasn't executing people left and right.  (That's just bad management!)

The problem I saw was, I wasn't interested in a game that seemed like pure self-aggrandizement.  (Hey, guys, want to come play my horde of evil henchmen?)  And I figured there were more than a few players who'd love the opportunity to try to take over the world, so I wanted to leave the offer open.  If the players seem genuinely interested in henchmen types, I'm happy to take the role and let them run amok - but I'm not opposed to the notion on principle.

[Jezabelle]

I was thinking one of the key officers would be the #2 - a control officer who's role is to keep tabs on global activities, collect intelligence, dispatch minions on tasks and various nefarious deeds.  It would be a role that focused largely on keeping the minions working, managing a control room and keeping the minions at work, and also the strange and odd requests of a brilliant mastermind at work. 

That have any appeal?

Sign me right up! Of course, history paper that's just now really coalescing notwithstanding, I'm sure there'll be time in the immediate-ish future for me to write up a good desc. We going to use any sort of sheet? Just to sort of organize things when we need to reference someone's age or hair color, also to be sure details like that aren't omitted due to being minor.

But once duly filed, I'd be tempted to run it at least initially as a GM/Players game.

That sounds good. There should be around a 1:3 environment mod : player ratio.

And I figured there were more than a few players who'd love the opportunity to try to take over the world, so I wanted to leave the offer open. 

Oh, I'm sure someone will bite: we just need to give it a bit time and grass-root it amongst the Doormatters.

[Ciosa]

Sign me right up! Of course, history paper that's just now really coalescing notwithstanding, I'm sure there'll be time in the immediate-ish future for me to write up a good desc. We going to use any sort of sheet? Just to sort of organize things when we need to reference someone's age or hair color, also to be sure details like that aren't omitted due to being minor.

I'll work out a character sheet very soon - I plan a more detailed version that'll be worked out in PMs, once those are available.  I myself will be busy with a few X-Mas related responsibilities, and will be a bit more sporadic over the next day or two.

That sounds good. There should be around a 1:3 environment mod : player ratio.

Definitely will have to see, based on interest.

Oh, I'm sure someone will bite: we just need to give it a bit time and grass-root it amongst the Doormatters.

Maybe I'll take a cue from you and do a shameless plug or two.

[Ciosa]

]
The Basics
Name:  Adriana Van Villard
Age: 33/Appears early twenties
Sex:  Female
Orientation: Voracious
Role: Evil Genius
Player:  Ciosa

The Look
Physical Description:  A beautiful, sensual woman with a confident sway in her step, chocolate hair and fair skin with just a hint of caramel.  She looks almost angelically sweet, with an easy, disarming smile.  It’s easy to miss the sharp intelligence in her eyes – the curves of her body are well trained to distract, and usually attired to devastating effect.
Preferred Attire: A dazzling array of clothing, from the far corners of the world.  Adriana is a vain fashion plate, and she’d sooner  be dead than wear the same outfit twice.
Weapon of Choice: her mind.

The story
Likes: Princess Numnums, a white Persian that has been described by her minions as the Antichrist.  Just as sweet looking as Adriana herself, the words “would you mind holding Princess Numnums?” and the bat of eyelashes usually precedes five minutes of excruciating pain.  Fashion.  Wealth.  Global Domination.  Efficiency.
Dislikes:  Failure.  Disloyalty.  An excess of ambition.  Failure.  Tardiness.  Sloppiness.  Failure.
Personality: Adriana long ago mastered a warm, fuzzy exterior that belies one of the most ambitious intelligent, and ruthless women on Earth.  Nothing seems to escape the meticulous Evil Genius, and for those with a hint of appreciation for the way her mind works, they discover a mind on par with the grand masters of chess, capable of plotting dozens of moves into the future.  Adriana is not cruel by nature – she’s cruel when it’s expedient.  She enjoys domination from time to time, but uses it as a tool for those who respond to such things.  When she’s run out of uses for a thing, she disposes of it.  Who’s run out of uses for a person, she disposes of them
Habits: Adriana has a sexual appetite that would intimidate Nero.  She does all of her best scheming mid-coitus, but doesn’t establish attached relationships of any kind.  In fact, her bedroom encounters usually end abruptly when she gets an idea in her mind, immediately prompting her to kich her partner(s) out of the bedroom and go to work.  Adriana also checks her makeup and hair obsessively.  When not busy with either of the above, she usually spends her free time showering Princess Numnums with attention.
Flaws:  Vanity – though Adriana can see right through most attempts to manipulate her, she never tires of hearing someone sing her praises.  She also finds it impossible to resist some first hand gloaing from time to time, particularly against a truly worthy adversary.  Ultimately, Adriana wants to take over the world to make it worship her.
Skills:  Scheming, plotting, manipulation. 
History: Adriana’s public history is fairly well known – the scion of a wealthy Los Angeles actor, her new stepmother stole her father’s affections, and her place in the will.  For the first year, this didn’t particularly bother her, as her stepmother was breaking her into the world of BDSM, a lifestyle Adriana took to like a fish to water.  Then wicked step-mommy offed daddy, inherited everything, and left Adriana homeless, destitute, grieving, and heartbroken.

She vowed revenge.

She was still the beautiful daughter of Victor Von Villard, after all, and so she set out to make her mark in Hollywood.  After a trio of movies – the Blue Island trilogy - made her wealthy and famous, she launched her own studio.  By twenty two, she was the fifth largest studio in Hollywood, having seduced directors, actors and producers to work on ironclad contracts.  She’d made more money in three years than her father had in his entire lifetime….

[to be continued]

So, this is the general outline I’d like to see for a character sheet.  There will be more details outlined by PM, once those become available, but here’s the place to put a general pitch for a concept.  Specific allocations of skills, special abilities, etc, will come after I've had time to write up the intended mechanics.

[Ciosa]

Oh, credit where credit is due:  I stole the basic layout and editing from Leather Family.  (Thanks!  Still learning all the coding!)

The above Genius is merely my nomination for the concept, I'd like everyone to still feel free to submit their own.

[Ciosa]

So, in continued homage to the game which inspired this idea, I’m going to keep attribute very simple.  (In general, I think a forum game should have some pretty simple rules.  Dice and mechanics should become invisible once game starts.) 

Everyone will have 5 key attributes, three key ratings, and special abilities defined by the player and approved by the GM

The five key attributes are:
Health:  This is just a threshold of physical damage
Endurance:  Similarly, a threshold of exhaustion.  Your ability to make progress on an an extended physically related task. 
Attention:  Your capacity to continually focus upon a task or work.  Your ability to make progress on an extended task that largely revolves around paying attention.  Monitoring a control room, for instance, will be a continually attention draining task.
.Smarts:  Your ability to avoid being tricked, onned, fooled – as well as the capacity to make progress on science-related tasks.
Loyalty:  Your conviction and belief in the supremacy of the Evil Genius, and the rewards that await for continuing to serve. 
These will be both ‘damage tracks’ and attributes – and not all minions are born equal.  Some tasks will be a reflection of a joint effort.  I may decide “It will take 300 pts of endurance to clear this section of volcano, large enough to make a modestly sized barracks.”

The three key ratings are: 
Intellect:  How intelligent your character is.  Useful in scientific research, how useful they are in devising schemes and plotting.  Rating 1 through 5.  One is a typical minion.  2 is someone with natural scientific or technical prowess.  3 is a Doctorate of some kind.  4 is a noted quantum physicist.  5 is an aspiring Evil Genius.
Persuasion:  Your ability to seduce, beguile, enthrall, cajole, and otherwise manipulate. Also, in the world at large, your ability to avoid detection and the attention of the forces of justice. 1 is a typical minion.  2.  Sexy French maid.  3.  Hollywood actor/actress.  Skillful infiltrator from the forces of justice.  4.  Diplomat.  Playboy.  Petty monarch.  5.  Aspiring Evil Genius.

Whoopass:  Your pedigree of badass.  Your aptitude for fighting.  Also, your aptitude in the world at large for actually committing crimes and misdeeds.  Your Whoopass will directly affect the outcome of all physical conflicts.  1.  Aspiring Evil Genius.  (It’s not really a hands on profession.)  Typical minion.  2.  A trained security officer/military member/police officer without any specialization or combat training.  3.  Special Forces.  Hard core mercenaries.  4.  Master martial artists.  Highly trained, experienced snipers.  5.  A super agent.

But wait, there’s more!
Every player character will have unique special abilities.  These should be things that operate on a sliding scale, as all of them will improve with experience.  (alternately, you can also unlock additional special abilities with experience.)

These will be player defined, but they should reflect the role of the character.  A skillful seductress and interrogator can have ‘Femme Fatale:  Successful persuasions and seductions drain loyalty from enemy forces.  You catch more flies with honey, darling.”  A henchman with years of mastery over the martial arts can have ‘Judo Chop!:  Unarmed attacks inflict double endurance loss.”  All abilities are subject to approval, but you should consider three you consider to be crucial to yoru character, that make him unique from every other minion.

[Josietta]

So questions....

Do you see this as sort of a Austin Powers-ish style as far as cheesy humor might go?

Are your players set to be all working for the Evil Genius as bad guys or vigliantes? Or do you see room for good guys?

From what I recall in the info you put up, it all takes place on an island right?  And this island has alot of gadgets and tech? or is it more you have what you bring with you?

Also... where do you see the overall direction going? Are we to help the Evil Genius take over or prevent her from doing so?  Maybe there are some players that might be trying to take over the Genius' place? Overthrow her?

[Ciosa]

Do you see this as sort of a Austin Powers-ish style as far as cheesy humor might go?

Yes and no - I see quite a bit of it as a humorous send up of humorous tropes in the genre, so I imagine there'll be overlap.  But there were characters even in the Bond films that make modern viewers go "Really?" 

  <---- I reference the name of this character as example. 

In conception, I see the characters as 'bad' guys, but in the same way that the construction workers who built the death star were 'bad.'  This isn't so much a game about exploring your inner sadist, as a certain amoral hedonism with a healthy dose of humor.  I'm not into torture, or scenes of torture - in the game that inspired it, you can have a character interrogated on numerous apparatus spread throughout your lair.  At the A.I. supercomputer, the wicked AI tickles agents until they confess everything they know.  Do I intend it to be quite so silly?  Not necessarily.  More, I'm interested in players and bad guys that have style, that are fun to write about and fun to watch.  My favorite thing about the second season of Buffy was the villains - Spike and Drusilla just seemed like they were having a blast.  So in that sense, the 'evil' characters of the game will more be actors that are looking to get what they want out of life -and things that society tells them they can't have.

I do see room for good guys, but they're going to be working fairly closely with the GM.  I'm hoping to have a few moderators to help play the forces of justice - everything from nosy tourists to full fledged super agents.    If you're really more interested in playing a good guy, than I can absolutely work with you to slip them into the game - but I'm looking at maintaining a ratio of good to evil that'll represent a challenge, and not let the good guys start to outnumber the bad.

It's not a spy genre without gadgets!  But part of the game's going to be about developing some of the cool toys in game.  The scientific researchers - unbound by the morality of their stodgy peers, of course - will be making scientific breakthroughs on a fairly regular basis.  Though if your concept is something of a gadget-based henchman, you can certainly start with some.

I really truly intend for there to be a path towards World Domination.  It's an achievable goal in game.  There's a lot of work to do to get there - and it'll end the game if it happens - but it's possible.  As far as ambitious PCs - again, I'd like a balance.  If half the PCs are trying to overthrow and work their way to the top, and the other half are running around as the forces of justice, I don't see a high probability of success and satisfaction.  In general, I don't enjoy games where player versus player conflict is at the heart, so I'd like the evil organization and the vast majority of players to come in under the auspices of cooperation.  After all, the world's a big place - if the Evil Genius takes over the world, and makes you the Lord Dictator of North America - there's enough wealth and power to last most people a lifetime.

[Jezabelle]

I like this the more I hear it--

I'm assuming we're going with the same "base under the volcano\in mountain" set up, at least initially? Then a hotel as a front for nosy tourists?

Perhaps some images reminiscent of that/A bit more about how the heists and kidnapping missions will play out. I totally get you, but I feel that's because of the Evil Genius inspiration clearly taking an important part of how things will work out on a logistical level.

I'll write a sheet when I've got time; does someone with 3 - 4 - 2 / I - P - W for stats sound too OP?

[Ciosa]

Don't assign stats yet.  I'm intending that to be a clandestine process after the game starts.

Yes, I'm actually intending the players to be inhabiting the 'blown up volcano' base that was in the teaser, and certainly a wise Evil Genius would construct a hotel to keep the nosy tourists distracted, early.  At this point, focus more on the character and worry about the assignment of stats later.

[Galactic Druid]

What kind of commitment are you looking for, Ciosa? Posts/day and all that fun?

[Ciosa]

Variant - the way I'm intending to set up the game is a playground - I.e, a lot of description going into a number of different sections and areas of the island, and then being filled by players and GM characters and mods.  I'm going to ask for a certain amount of respect for others in a scene, but if two people are alone in a room and want to velocipost back and forth, they're welcome to.  When the characters go 'off-island,' their shenanigans will be handled by PM.  At start, with the way the threads limits are structured, there'll be less areas.  Once we have more players, the island will grow as workers excavate more area, etc.  I think there's going to be room for everyone's playspeeds - if you notice an area is zipping along, and you don't really feel your character needs to be involved, you can transition elsewhere.  I'm also really not certain what is a 'fast' pace on Elliquiy versus a slow one - I had game on my old forum that I posted to about once a week, and they posted back with about the same frequency.  Then I had games that I probably posted to... fifty times a day?  (when I wasn't working.)  I don't expect anyone to keep up that kind of pace regularly.  (I have to work, too.)

I guess I'm looking for, on average, a 'medium' speed.  I can get burned out trying to run high pace stuff for a lot of people.  Too slow loses my interest.  But I'm willing to work with players.

[Ciosa]

The new interest thread is now here.